


Five-Minute Time Machine

by L3245



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Comedy, F/M, Luka Only Meets Marinette After Becoming Viperion, Misuse of Miraculous Powers (Miraculous Ladybug), Romance, it's really awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24367531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L3245/pseuds/L3245
Summary: “Are you trying to pick me up?” she questions, a blush rising to her cheeks.“Well, it wouldn’t be hard,” he teases her. Marinette probably weighed around 110 pounds.She glares at him, shattering Luka out of any fantasies he was having.“Well, sorry for not being a challenge,” she huffs. The irate woman was already walking away without looking back.Welp. There goes Second Chance #5.-or-A tongue-tied Luka only meets Marinette after becoming Viperion. Sass assists.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 22
Kudos: 230





	Five-Minute Time Machine

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Awkward-town. Inspired--totally ripped off--from One-Minute Time Machine. Which was ripped off by Rick and Morty. God that episode was so good.

Luka first laid eyes on her two weeks ago during one of Hawkmoth’s attacks.

The akuma had gone by the moniker “Deja Brew” and had the troublesome power of teleporting back to a place she had physically been to since being akumatized. Because of the time-travelling nature of Deja Brew’s ability, Viperion had been summoned to help Ladybug and Chat Noir in the defense of Paris.

Ladybug had already deduced that the akuma was hiding inside the supervillain’s coffee cup, but that knowledge had done little to help when Deja Brew just blinked to a safe location a few seconds back in time whenever any of them got too close to the cup. Ladybug’s Lucky Charm had been a slip of paper with a scribbled order for a “Venti Cold Brew”, but all of the coffee shops in the area were closed from the attack. Chat Noir—after an exasperated yell of “I don’t think that paper is going to cut it, Ladybug!”—looked just about ready to Cataclysm the entire 7th Arrondissement just to ensure Deja Brew didn’t have _anywhere_ to teleport to. Ladybug had disappeared soon after.

And that was when Luka met _her._

She was hiding out in one of the coffee shops he had crashed into in a flurry of glass and debris. The aforementioned Cold Brew was in her hands—freshly made—and for a moment, they stared at each other in surprise. Then Deja Brew barged in and with some quick thinking, the two of them managed to slip up and incapacitate the akuma long enough for whenever Ladybug resurfaced.

He didn’t realize it at the time, but he sure did now.

She was the most extraordinary woman he’s ever met—save for his dear mother and sister, but he doesn’t think they’d mind. She put a melody in his mind and heart since that day, and every hour, minute, second following has her on repeat.

He sees her sometimes on the streets of Paris, one note among the song of the city, but every time he went to talk to her, he just couldn’t.

Brave. Determined. Caring.

That was what Ladybug and Chat Noir had called him when Luka first received the Snake Miraculous. At times like this, when fear has him in a vice-like grip every time he so much as _thinks_ of the beautiful blue-haired woman, Luka doesn’t feel very brave.

Luckily, Sass had a plan.

Today is the day. And, if it isn’t, the two of them would _make_ it be the day, no matter how many tries it took.

Luka takes a deep breath to steel himself, treating this like he would a terribly dangerous akuma, instead of the most extraordinary woman he’d ever met. Approaching the woman from behind, he reminds himself to remain calm and steady. Focused. He ignores the curious stares from various passerby. There was only _her_.

He taps her shoulder. “Hi again!” he says in the friendliest— _too loud, too eager, Sass I’m so sorry—_ voice he could muster.

_“UWAH!”_

Caught off-guard, the pig-tailed woman startles and throws her boxes in the air. They are strewn about the busy Paris street, causing her to have to dodge both civilians and vehicles trying to pick them up. Several are crushed, the packaging bending to reveal dozens of smushed macarons. “Sorry, sorry,” she mutters to passerby as she gets on her knees to salvage what she could.

Well, she doesn’t apologize to him. Instead, she just gives him a slightly miffed glare. “What’s your problem?” she demands.

“I’m so sorry,” Luka says.

“Yeah, well… whatever.”

**Second Chance #1**

“Good morning.”

_“UWAH!”_

Luka catches the boxes, stacking them atop each other in midair. Glancing down, Luka recognizes the bakery logo on the packaging. _Dupain-Cheng Bakery._ He used to do food deliveries while in lycée and the little shop was on his route. Additionally, Juleka sometimes brought home some of their delightfully creamy éclairs and crispy-sweet macarons.

None of them were as sweet as the smile this woman was giving him now.

“Wow, that was amazing. How did you do that?” she gushes.

“Right place, right time,” Luka says with a calm smile. When she reaches for the boxes, he pulls back slightly. “Allow me? Wouldn’t want a repeat of that, of course.”

She looks at him bemusedly. “Do you make it a habit to help every single damsel in distress?”

“Only the ones who are really hopeless.”

**Second Chance #2**

“I help where I can, but no, just you,” he replies easily. “I realize I never got your name.”

“Oh! It’s Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

She offers her hand and Luka shakes it, thanking Sass for covering up the fact that his hands were probably clammy from nervousness. The handshake lasts longer than the necessary single brief downward motion. Marinette Dupain-Cheng— _what a lovely name to listen to, like a chord progression in D major, he knew just the notes already—_ gives him a knowing smile before pulling away.

His mind goes blank. If he didn’t have such amazing control over his own facial expressions, his face would have been a bright cherry red. As it stands though, Luka looks as cool and collected as ever.

“And you are?” Marinette inquires.

Unfortunately, his agency over his tongue left much to be desired.

“Luka Couffaine,” he says automatically.

The woman blinks at him, clearly taken aback. “Wait, Viperion, did you just give me your real—"

“No,” he cuts her off, hoping vainly that she would just forget about his little slip up and he wouldn’t have to use Sass’s power again.

“But—"

**Second Chance #3**

“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And you are?”

“Unworthy,” he says, smiling.

“…”

Still smiling, he mutters, “ _Shit.”_

**Second Chance #4**

“And you are?”

“Viperion, but nice try,” Luka replies, smiling as if this isn’t the fourth repetition.

She stretches her arms behind her and adorably rocks on the balls of her feet. “Thanks. Someone’s got to keep you heroes on your toes with those secret identities,” she says with a mischievous giggle.

“Ah yes, a tester of both the physical and mental. What ever would we heroes do without you?”

“Run around in coffee shops in a panic, I bet.”

 _‘She’s flirting! Flirt back! Try puns! Girls dig puns!~’_ a little mental voice that sounds suspiciously like Chat Noir tells him.

Luka briefly ponders over the black-clad hero’s romantic interactions. For all his groan-worthy jokes, Chat Noir actually had quite the cult following. There always seemed to be a line of rabid fan girls swooning over the guy after an akuma battle. Luka remembers seeing a couple of them faint from sheer pleasure when told “it’s furry nice to meet mew~” from the blond.

_Maybe... he has a point…_

“Yeah, we were giving it our best shot, but brew were the real hero. Thanks a latte,” Luka says with a smoothness that would make Chat Noir proud. He can almost see the cat-themed hero wiping away tears of joy that his ‘protégé’ was finally accepting his teachings.

Marinette wrinkles her nose. “Um… okay?” she replies, looking weirded out and slightly miffed. She doesn’t like puns.

_Then again, everyone knows Chat used to crush on Ladybug, and she’s never been a fan of his puns._

Luka is honestly relieved. He didn’t know if he could keep that up. Ignoring the mental image of a chibi Chat Noir rolling around in a puddle of his own tears—' _Pun-believable! You were hiss-terical! Hiss-terical!’—_ Luka slides back the snake head.

**Second Chance #5**

“Thank you for your help with Deja Brew,” he says plainly and honestly. “We were having a lot of trouble with the akuma, but you were the metronome that put us back in time, put _me_ back in time. I’d… like to express my gratitude if you’d let me.”

“Are you trying to pick me up?” she questions, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Luka chuckles. Marinette probably weighed around 110 pounds _at the most._ He may not religiously go to the gym like Bunnix and King Monkey, but Luka was strong in his own right and picking up Marinette would be a breeze. He can already imagine her hanging playfully on his back as they stroll the riverfront, or maybe in his arms as he carries her over the threshold of a new houseboat…

“Well, it wouldn’t be _hard,”_ he teases her.

Marinette glares at him, shattering Luka out of any fantasies he was having.

“Well, sorry for not being a challenge,” she huffs. The irate woman was already walking away without looking back. “I’ll leave you to more _stimulating_ prospects.”

**Second Chance #6**

“Are you trying to pick me up?”

“Yes,” he responds eagerly. Then, in an amendment, “Well, I’m trying to.”

She smirks. “Try harder.”

“Okay, um… hi?”

“Harder.”

**Second Chance #7**

“Coffee?”

“Harder.”

**Second Chance #8**

“Dinner on the Seine?”

She grimaces.

**Second Chance #9**

“Let’s go back to your place and I can play your fiddle, if you know what I mean?” he tries for the heck of it.

“Um…”

They both grimace.

**Second Chance #10**

Luka smirks, leaning in suggestively. “How about I take you back to my place,” he murmurs, enjoying the way her cheeks flush and breath quickens, “and play you a song on my guitar?”

She laughs.

“That’s all you really want, huh?” Marinette remarks, pleasantly surprised. He feels a grin stretch his own face.

He’d like so much more, actually. Marinette’s smile was wonderful, but her laugh—oh, her laugh was the melody his heart was searching for this whole time. He wanted to play this warm, fuzzy feeling within for the rest of his days.

“For now, yes. And maybe dinner too, not on the Seine I promise.”

She laughs again, this time lightly holding his arm. If lightning struck him down in that moment, Luka would die happily.

“God, you’re so—so smooth. How do you know just what to say?” Marinette says in between gasps.

“The Power of Intuition,” Luka replies calmly. He can see Sass proudly nodding his approval. “So… would 6 PM tonight be all right with you?”

“6 PM sounds lovely.” Suddenly, Marinette stills, as if she was struck by something. With wide bluebell eyes, the young woman turns to Luka. “But… aren’t you a hero? Can you even be seen with a civilian like me?” she asks.

_He knew he was missing something._

Luka reaches for his Miraculous, ready to repeat everything all over again but in his civilian form—

\--but is stopped by a smaller, gentle hand atop his suited one. He looks at Marinette, surprised to see a teasing smile resting on her cute face. She leans in and presses a soft kiss to his cheek. However, she doesn’t pull away, instead lettings her lips linger at shell of his ear.

“I’m kidding,” Marinette whispers. “Dinner sounds great… Luka.”

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to wellsaltedlady for beta reading.


End file.
